FirstDietitians is a friendly, approachable team of 24 dietitians, dietetic assistants and administrators delivering adult and paediatric services across East Surrey and parts of West Sussex in a range of community settings, including clinics, specialist schools and patients' own homes.
This is an exciting opportunity and you will have an integral role in supporting both the Sussex and Surrey adult teams, working closely with the lead community dietitians to support our patients in the community. This will include clinics, domiciliary visits and ward support, as well as supporting both teams with daily tasks.
As a key member of the multi‑disciplinary team you will be uniquely placed to build relationships with our patients and their families, positively influencing their health and wellbeing. You will work as an autonomous assistant practitioner, with appropriate levels of supervision and support, contributing to the delivery of excellent nutritional care by the team.
We recognise the importance of flexible working; we encourage candidates to discuss opportunities for this at interview.
Main duties of the job
* Contacting patients by phone, e‑mail or letter to book education sessions, clinic appointments and home visits
* Visiting patients in care homes or their own homes to carry out nutritional assessments, including weight/height checks
* Working with the lead community dietitians to improve the service where possible
* Supporting the dietitians in their everyday tasks
* Conducting ward reviews and information gathering with the support of your dietetic team
* Sending out nutritional samples for clinic patients
* Conducting weekly nutritional support clinics with the support of your dietetic team
* Ordering ancillaries for enteral feeding patients and communicating with our local feeding company on patients' behalf
Job responsibilities
The post-holder will work as an autonomous Assistant Practitioner within the Dietetic Service, operating within clearly defined protocols and under the supervision of a registered dietitian, contributing to the delivery of excellent nutritional care by the First Dietitians Team.
The post-holder will support the assessment, implementation and monitoring of nutritional interventions to maintain or improve patients' health, functional ability, independence and quality of life. This includes managing a delegated caseload and contributing to care across a range of settings, including outpatient nutrition support clinics, inpatient ward environments and domiciliary visits.
Working as part of a multidisciplinary and multi‑agency team, the post-holder will deliver planned interventions, escalates clinical concerns appropriately and contributes to coordinated care pathways. They will be responsible for organising and prioritising their own workload, responding flexibly to the changing demands of the service, and ensuring timely and effective patient care.
The role also includes a range of service support and administrative functions essential to the smooth running of the service, including documentation, data collection and liaison with the enteral feeding company. Effective communication skills are essential, as the post-holder will provide information, education and support to patients, carers and other professionals where information may be complex.
The post-holder may also contribute to the delivery of training and health promotion activities for patients, carers and healthcare professionals, and support service development and quality improvement initiatives.
Person Specification
Knowledge
* Aware of boundaries of your role
* Appreciate the issues involved with working in a community healthcare setting
* Interest in food and nutrition
* Show understanding of how service reviews can improve quality
* Can demonstrate learning in food and nutrition
Qualifications
* GCSE (or equivalent) Maths and English
* Educated to A-level (or equivalent)
* NVQ Level 3 or equivalent
Experience
* Experience of being part of a team
* Experience of working with Dietitians
* Experience of working with patients
* Experience of educating/training/teaching groups and individuals
* Working within an NHS setting
Other
* Car owner and driver
* Flexible
* Reliable and trustworthy
* Assertive and confident in expressing a view
* Demonstrates initiative
* Team player
* Willing to drive their personal development
* Understands principles of equal opportunity
* Willing to contribute to audit and development
* Professional appearance
Skills
* Ability to prioritise workload and work autonomously
* Good IT (MS Office) and able to learn to use new programs quickly
* Able to learn new skills quickly
* Excellent verbal and written skills
* Ability to concentrate in a busy and occasionally noisy environment
* Ability to cope with unpredictable events and varying work pressures
* Ability to develop and prepare dietetic resources
* Teaching and presentation skills
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
£28,392 to £31,157 a year + 5% HCAS per annum, pro rata
Equal Opportunity
At First Community we welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities. All applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments.
Benefits
We offer NHS terms and conditions, high quality training and development opportunities, flexible working to enable a good work‑life balance, an inclusive and friendly work environment, NHS pension, flexible retirement options and various employee benefits.
#J-18808-Ljbffr